


The Long Way Home

by LovelyLittleGrim



Series: VS [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: A Vacancy Signs Spin off Chapter, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Theo's POV, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2018-04-10
Packaged: 2019-04-21 02:02:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14274507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LovelyLittleGrim/pseuds/LovelyLittleGrim
Summary: This is Theo's spin-off chapter from Vacancy Signs. It follows the events of Chapter's 5 and 6.





	The Long Way Home

**Author's Note:**

> I don't suggest reading unless you've reached chapter 7 of Vacancy Signs.

Theo’s been to literal Hell and back, he’s seen things and done things that have terrified him, but nothing has ever scared him more than the sight of an O’s gaping mouth just inches away from the back of Liam’s neck, it’s yellow rotting teeth snapping at the skin, ready to rip into it hungrily. Theo’s blood runs cold in his veins, fear clouding his mind as he pushes himself forward with the sole intent to save Liam’s life, a growl rumbling from deep within his chest.

 His arm slides between Liam and the O, the O’s teeth tearing into his flesh easily as he tumbles to the ground. They roll together in the dirt, dust clouding the air, choking him as he tries to suck back in the breath that was knocked from him upon impact. He staggers up to his feet, spots dancing before his eyes as he struggles to breathe. He bares his fangs angrily as the O crawls towards him, pushing itself up onto its wobbling legs. Theo narrows his eyes and plunges his already bloody hand through the back of the dead woman’s head, it falls still as his fingers ruin the cerebral cortex.  

The O’s lifeless body crumbles to the ground the second he pulls his claws free, there’s a low thud and more dust that drifts up through the air. His breathing is ragged, adrenaline and terror still coursing through him as he stares down at the dead woman, her battered high heels a stark shade of yellow against the mottled color of her flesh and the brilliant red of blood seeping into the dirt. He can hear the distant squelch of Liam pulling his own hand from an O’s head, can hear as Liam struggles back up to his feet, his heartbeat slowing down to a steady, reassuring pace rather than the rapid tick of a near-death experience.

Slowly, Theo’s terror abates, his eyes pulling them self away from the O to stare across the tiny clearing at Liam. Blood and tiny bits of skin drip from his claws onto the ground, adding to the mess of the earth. It reminds him of unpleasant things, memories he would rather forget as Liam stares at him worriedly, fear clear in the brilliant blue of Liam’s eyes.

“Are you okay,” Liam asks his voice a quiet shush on the wind.

“I’m fine,” Theo says at once, his voice coming off clipped as the bite on his arm begins to sting, an itch traveling through his veins like ants have found a way into his bloodstream. His body stiffens against the pain as he stands there in that tiny clearing covered in blood, the reality of the situation settling in. He was bitten, and everyone knows what happens when you’re bitten. He stares quietly at Liam, his jaw clenching, holding in words that don’t need to be said out loud. For the first time in a long time, Theo doesn’t know what to do.

Liam’s eyes narrow at him, his arms twitching at his sides like he wants to cross them over his chest.

“Yeah,” Liam shakes his head, his hair tossing from side to side. It’s so long now, the strands dark with blood and dirt. Theo idly thinks he should cut it, it would be so easy for an O’s hand to tangle in the blond locks and drag Liam down to the ground, it would be so easy for someone to use Liam’s hair against him.

Liam pins him with a look, his gaze hard. “I’m calling bullshit.”

Theo should have known that Liam wouldn’t just let it go without saying something, Liam’s not that type of person. Usually, Theo would find it impressive, but right now it’s troublesome. Theo doesn’t have any words for Liam, he doesn’t even have any words for himself.

“What’s wrong,” Liam asks looking determined, his fingers curling at his sides like he plans to fight off whatever’s worrying Theo. “I mean, I know it was a pretty close call, but we’re both fine.”

 _They’re_ not fine, but _Liam_ is and that’s all that really matters now, Theo thinks. Liam who had almost just had the back of his neck ripped out by a fucking zombie; _Liam who had almost just died_ is alive and okay.

Theo shakes his head and moves around Liam, carefully picking his way through the litter of O’s on the ground, his shoes leaving bloody prints in the dirt as he walks. The lake, he needs to get to the lake, he needs to clean the blood from his skin, he needs to _think._

“Don’t worry about it, Liam,” He says voice surprisingly even. He’ll figure out what to do, but right now he just needs a moment to collect himself, to figure out his next step. He needs a moment to _feel_ because he thinks he might be in shock. He was bitten by a zombie and everyone knows what happens next. He should be freaking out, he should be panicking, but he’s not.

“Where are you going,” Liam asks, confusion clear in his voice as he turns to watch Theo walk away.

“Lake,” Theo answers, his mind miles away. He feels detached from reality, thousands of thoughts swirling through his brain at once but he can’t focus on a single one. He lifts his uninjured arm in the air, showing off the impressive amount of ichor that coats it. “Need to wash this off.”

* * *

 

Theo stumbles through the trees, his body moving on autopilot taking him towards the lake they had passed the day before. There’s relief that settles into bones the moment he’s out of Liam’s sight, his shoulders sagging the closer he gets to the shoreline. He doesn’t look at his arm until he reaches the edge of the lake, the tips of his fingers are numb and clumsy as they tug up the sleeve of his shirt to reveal the bitemark hidden beneath it. His hands shake as he stares down at the ragged bitemark in his arm, the blood is so very red and warm as it runs in rivulets down his wrist and drips into the water lapping at the toes of his shoes. He sucks in a steadying breath and closes his eyes. He doesn’t want to see the evidence anymore, but the wound is burned into the back of his eyelids and he can see it perfectly. He pulls the sleeve back down over the bite and curls his fingers into fists to qualm the trembling. He’s scared, but this fear feels like nothing compared to the fear he had experienced earlier when faced with Liam’s death.

He opens his eyes and lifts his gaze to the water, the morning sun glints off the deep blue making the river sparkle. Theo licks his lips; his mouth feels so parched. Without another thought he walks straight into the water, not even bothering to shuck off his clothing, his arms hang loosely at his sides. The water should feel cold as it soaks into his clothing, it’s late November in Kansas, but Theo can’t feel anything except the bite mark on his arm and the poison in his veins.

* * *

 

When Liam finally shows up at the river Theo moves farther out into the water until his feet can no longer touch, putting as much room between him and Liam as possible. He doesn’t want Liam to smell the blood or see the bite mark, he doesn’t want to worry Liam.

Theo watches the little werewolf, his eyes tracing the shivering form as Liam waddles into the water, his teeth chattering at the cold. He answers Liam’s questions without much thought, his mind not really processing much until Liam turns to face him fully and asks: “Are you mad at me or something?”

Theo blinks slowly, his mind trying to focus on the words even though it’s hard.

“I mean,” Liam continues, he looks away, fingers tapping at the surface of the water, before hesitantly looking back. “I know I fucked up, it was my turn to keep watch and I fell asleep. We made it out okay though like we always do.” The werewolf gives him a tiny smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes, the stretch of it looks pained like he’s hurt at the thought of Theo being angry with him and is trying to lessen the tension. “Even if we are completely covered in zombie innards.”

“You were almost bitten,” Theo says before he can stop himself or formulate a better response, the words just tumbling from his mouth like his filter was stolen away by the infection spreading through his body.

“Yeah,” Liam says with a short nod of his head, his hands dipping beneath the water and sending tiny waves across the surface of the lake. “ _Almost._ ”

The word grates on Theo’s nerves. Almost is too close, like in horseshoe and hand grenades.

“That thing was seconds away from ripping into the back of your neck, Liam,” Theo spits out angrily, his voice steadily rising with each word as the image of the O getting closer to Liam flashes through his mind. Liam was so close to not being here. “ _You could have died.”_

Liam looks surprised, his lips parting and his eyes widening. There’s guilt etched into the lines of his face and Theo doesn’t like it being there, but there’s no way to say it lightly. He’s not mad at Liam, he’s just scared. The little werewolf is smart but impulsive and in a zombie apocalypse impulsiveness can get you killed… or worse.

Theo opens and closes his mouth twice before deciding not to say anything at all, he stares at Liam a moment longer before slipping beneath the water, letting the cold liquid close over his head and drag him down. It’s dark beneath the surface of the lake, calm, he wants to stay here but knows that he can’t. He swims for the shore and resurfaces, gulping in the November air as he steps out of the lake, water sluicing down his body onto the hard ground. He slips through the tree out of sight, his lungs still burning in his chest like he never took a breath.

* * *

 

Theo makes his way back into their camp, it looks more like the scene of a massacre than a resting spot for weary travelers. He leans heavily against a nearby tree, the bark digs into his skin, but it doesn’t hurt. He glances around the open space with tired eyes, rotting bodies and blood cover the camp. His nose wrinkles in disgust the more he glances about, he doesn’t see their backpacks anywhere. A frown works its way onto his mouth as he wracks his brain for where he had last seen them, they had been resting next to where Theo and Liam had fallen asleep. He turns his gaze towards the large tree opposite him, but the bags aren’t there either.

He gives a cautious sniff at the air but smells nothing other than rot, Liam and himself. He growls low in his throat. No one could have stolen their bags, right? Theo would be able to pick up their scent, wouldn’t he? He pushes off the tree and trudges carefully through the maze of bodies parts and ichor.

The large elm tree smells like both Liam and himself even beneath the rancid scent of O’s, though Liam’s scent is pressed into the area more than his own, as though the little werewolf had been in this spot more recently than Theo. Theo lets his eyes close, and tries to open his senses up, even more, Liam’s scent veers off to the left, the opposite direction of the lake. Theo opens his eyes and furrows his brows as he follows the smell through the thicket of surrounding trees. He walks until he finds a small opening, their backpacks sitting up against a little elm tree with their pile of firewood. He hadn’t even noticed that the firewood was missing from their last camp as well. His shoulders sag with relief, Liam must have moved their things before heading down to the lake to clean up.

He peels the sodden clothes from his body, rings the water from them as much as his exhausted muscles will allow him to and then drapes them over a low hanging tree branch to dry. He rummages quickly through his bag, the gentle breeze ghosting over his naked flesh, he wonders how cold he should feel right now, dripping water and out in the open like this. He pulls a short-sleeved shirt from his bag and tears it into long strips to wrap around the bite mark on his arm. The bite doesn’t look like it plans on closing or ceasing in its bleeding at all, which could be a problem. Liam might smell the blood on him and ask questions. Theo bites down on his lip to hold in a whine of pain as he pulls the wrap as tightly as he can around the wound, he can’t risk blood seeping out. He doesn’t want Liam to know. Not yet… maybe not ever.

* * *

 

The fire is burning, the sticks crackling within the flames, tiny embers flittering away on the gentle breeze as Liam finally drags himself into camp. The little werewolf looks miserable and cold, his long hair plastered to the side of his face, his clothes sticking to him like a freezing second skin. Theo digs around in Liam’s bag and pulls out a pair of dry clothes as the werewolf waddles towards him and the fire.

“Here,” Theo says holding out the clothes, eyes narrowing on the pale purple of Liam’s lips, the dumbass had stayed in the water too long. “Hurry up and change.”

“Thanks, mom,” Liam says with a scoff though it loses its effect with the chattering of his teeth as he speaks. He snatches the clothes from Theo’s outstretched hand and turns his back to undress.

Theo watches him quietly as Liam slowly peels the clothes from his body. He knows that he should look away and give Liam the privacy he deserves but he can’t convince his eyes to move. This might be the last time he sees Liam; might be the last time he has the chance to take all of Liam in.

He watches as Liam hops around in wet socks, leaves and dirt clinging to the cotton material, his pale ass on full display as he struggles. Theo chuckles quietly making Liam glance over his shoulder at him, a glare firmly in place on his face even as his cheeks burn a bright pink. Theo wonders how much is from the cold and how much is from embarrassment.

“Hurry up and get dressed,” Theo teases lightly. He’s not going to let their last day end on a sour note, not when he can make sure it won’t. “You’re blinding me.”

“Then stop looking,” Liam snipes back, but there’s no honest heat in his voice, instead the tone comes across more like relief and the sound of it sends a pang of guilt through Theo’s chest because he’s the one that put that worry there. He’s the one that made Liam think he was angry with him.

Theo pushes away the guilt and says the first nonsensical thing that pops into his head, it’s something that Liam would do, but he decides that it can’t hurt to be a little weird just once in his life. “I can’t help it, I’m part wolf and that’s a full moon,” He gives a mocking little howl and hopes Liam doesn’t hear how hollow it sounds coming from his lips.

Liam’s skin flushes bright red, the color trailing down from his shoulders to the curve of his ass, Theo’s eyes follow it and linger there longer than they should. Liam yanks roughly on his left sock and tears it in half in his haste to get it off. Theo smiles softly at the wolf as he finally manages to divulge himself of his wet clothes and slip into his dry ones.

“Shut up,” Liam mumbles as he tosses his wet clothes over the same branch that Theo’s are hanging on over the fire. Lake water drips from them, popping and hissing as it lands on the burning logs. He plops down in the dead grass beside Theo as close to the fire as he can get without bursting into flames.

They sit in companionable silence for a long time, Liam with his arms resting on his knees, hands outstretched towards the warmth of the fire, and Theo with his head tilted back, elbows digging into the dirt, his eyes on the sky watching as gray cloud after gray cloud rolls past overhead. Theo thinks as he watches the clouds grow and tumble into one another, he thinks over a hundred different scenarios in which he tells Liam the truth about the bite and then a hundred more where he doesn’t. None of them go very well in his mind.

Theo bites down on the inside of his cheek and closes his eyes. He’s tired of looking at the sky, he’s tired of thinking… He’s just tired in general. He knows he can’t stay here with Liam, not with the bite infecting him as every second ticks by. Staying here puts Liam at risk and that’s something that Theo can’t allow.

Part of Theo wants to shift right now and run away as fast and far as his paws will carry him, but he knows that Liam would chase after him, knows he would demand answers to Theo’s sudden fit of absurdity.

Another plan filters slowly into his brain and he knows it might be his best course of action, even though it will leave Liam hating him: He’ll leave while the little werewolf is asleep so that when Liam wakes up tomorrow morning he’ll be alone. He’ll make Liam think that he really was mad about Liam falling asleep, he’ll make Liam think that Theo had grown tired of him. The sting of betrayal will fester inside the werewolf and push him onwards, it’ll make Liam determined to get home. It’ll make Liam stay alive. He opens his eyes slowly and lets them fall to the side where Liam is sitting unaware of the decisions Theo is making. Theo can deal with Liam hating him as long as he knows Liam will make it back to Beacon Hills, back home where he belongs and deserves to be.

“Hey,” He murmurs at the werewolf, his voice raspy, mouth slightly dry as the fever begins to set in. “Hand me one of your maps.”

Liam jerks his head towards him but reaches for his bag to comply without hesitating at all. It almost makes Theo smile, but he bites it back. They’ve gotten so close over the last few months, continuously at one another side, helping each other, doing what the other cannot. He never thought that he could have this easy comradery, even as a member of the pack he’s never been close to any of them, he doesn’t blame them though, not after the things that he had done.

Liam tugs the bag closer to his side and fumbles with the zipper, pulling it open even as he asks: “Why?”

Theo shrugs a single shoulder, a lie already forming on his tongue, he’s always been good at them. “My maps are starting to fall apart.”

Liam frowns at him, a tiny wrinkle forming between his eyes that Theo wants to smooth away with his thumb before Liam turns his head away so that he can rummage around in his bag. He turns back to Theo a moment later, map in his hand, its edges are bent from being in Liam’s backpack, but it’s otherwise still in perfect condition.

“A pen too,” Theo waits to say just to see the tiny wrinkle appear again. Liam rolls his eyes, but the wrinkle is there, the sight of it again so soon makes his lips twitch at the corners as Liam twists to the side to grab him a pen.

“What are you doing,” Liam asks as he holds out the pen to Theo. Theo takes it and tucks it behind his ear.

“I’m mapping out the rest of the way to Beacon Hills,” Theo says as he spreads the map out on the ground, tiny speckles of dirt sliding onto the paper that he doesn’t bother to dust away. He might not be around to help Liam in person, but he’ll do what he can to make sure Liam knows his way home. “We still have a few states left between us.”

Liam nods at him but Theo can still see the confusion in his pale eyes when he glances over. Liam doesn’t get it, he doesn’t have to, not now anyway. Theo pulls the pen out from behind his ear uncaps it. He tries to keep his hands from shaking as he marks off key location points. He follows the red and blue lines from town to town starting from where they are currently, finds the best routes for Liam to take and plans out back up routes just in case something goes wrong. He moves his hands across the map carefully, fingers scoping out the path, the paper crinkling beneath the weight of his hand.

Liam clears his throat from beside him. “Theo?”

Theo hums in acknowledgment but doesn’t look at him as he taps his pen against the map.

“Thank you,” Liam says softly and Theo freezes, breath catching in his throat as Liam continues. “For saving me.”

Theo lets out a quiet, shuddery breath and forces himself to look up, he meets Liam’s eyes but they’re too bright and grateful to hold for long, so Theo drops his gaze to Liam’s hands. He watches as Liam’s fingers twist together nervously, the tips of his fingers a pink with the chill of autumn.

Theo wonders what Liam has to be nervous about. Theo doesn’t regret saving him, not even a little bit. Does he want to die? No, of course not, but he knows out of the two of them which one has more to live for, which one of them deserves to live more and it’s not Theo. It never has been. The only reason Theo’s even alive right now is because of the stubborn werewolf sitting beside him. Liam is the one that gave Theo a second chance at not just life but _actually living_ like a normal person. Theo owes Liam everything.

Lifting his gaze back up to Liam’s, he traces the lines of Liam’s face etching them into his memory. He tips his head slowly in a nod, his voice quiet. “Yeah.”

They don’t talk for a long time after that. Theo losing himself in the tiny lines of the map, the crackling of the fire and the sound of Liam’s soft breathing.

* * *

 

Theo’s been done with the planned route for a while now, but he can’t seem to stop checking it over a million times to make sure it’s feasible, his eyes darting around the map carefully. He’s pleased with the black lines that will guide Liam home after he no longer can, he’s pleased that Liam has the chance of making it home even if it’s without Theo.

He glances over at Liam from the corner of his eye, the werewolf isn’t paying any attention, his blue eyes unfocused as he stares into the fire, watching as sticks turn to ash. Theo taps the pen lightly along the bottom of his chin as he stares at Liam. The werewolf looks oddly ethereal bathed in the yellow glow of the fire's light. Liam blinks slowly like he’s coming back from miles away, he leans over towards his bag and rummages around inside it. For what? Theo doesn’t know.

Theo drops his eyes back down to the map in front of him. It’s finished save for one last important thing. He picks an out of the way town to scribble over and quickly writes while Liam is turned away.

**_Try not to get lost or eaten._ **

He stares at the paper for a moment, a wave of amusement rippling through him as he adds: ** _Dumbass_**

He finishes the messy scrawl of words just as the pen is plucked from his hand and replaced with a bower bar. Theo wrinkles his nose at the sight of it. He’s going to miss a couple of things when he’s back in hell, but power bars are not one of them.

“Eat, Dumbass,” Liam demands imperiously.

“You’re the dumbass,” Theo mutters beneath his breath as he folds up the map and sets it down on the ground behind him. He knows Liam heard him, but Liam just smiles as he twirls the stolen pen through his fingers and takes a large bite of his own disgusting food.

Theo fiddles with the wrapper of the bar in his hands but doesn’t open it. He’s not hungry, the urge to eat anything has been burned out of him by the fever rapidly growing beneath his skin. He watches at Liam eats, the werewolf chewing with his mouth open. It’s disgusting, but Theo catalogs the irritating habit carefully in case it’s his last time seeing it. Theo sucks in a deep breath, the air tastes like blood and smoke, it coats his tongue, making him nauseous. He wrinkles his nose and casts his eyes down to where the puzzle book is sitting on Liam’s lap.

“What type of puzzle are we doing tonight,” He asks curiously hoping it’ll take his mind off his impending doom and Liam’s impending hatred.

He waits for Liam to flip through the puzzle book before secretly setting the power bar down with the folded-up map. Liam will need the bar later; the werewolf is shit at hunting and skinning animals. Theo swears he’ll find a way out of hell just to kill Liam if Liam ends up dying from starvation.

Liam comes to an abrupt halt and opens the puzzle book wider, a low laugh tumbling from his lips as he turns the book towards Theo to show him the page. “Oh, good, it’s science terms.”

Theo straightens up, hiding the power bar and map with his body. “What’s the first clue,” He asks, as he blinks over at the werewolf, there’s a headache beginning to form behind his eyes, the edges of his vision starting to blur.

Liam clears his throat, there’s a glimmer of amusement in his eyes and the slightest smile on his face as he reads. “What’s the name of the cells control center?”

Theo knows the answer, he’s known the answer since he was seven years old, but still, he waits until Liam counts out the little boxes.

“It’s seven letters long,” Liam tells him.

“The nucleus.”

Theo watches as he writes an N in the first box and then falters, biting down on his bottom lip, his teeth digging into the skin. Theo takes pity on him and spells out the word. He watches as the soft smile on Liam’s face breaks out into a grin as he stares down at the yellowing paper of the puzzle book.

“You nerd,” Liam murmurs the insult sounding oddly fond from Liam’s mouth before the werewolf reads off the next question.

The play until the sun has fully set, the moon peeking through the clouds, casting a pale light over the woods around them. Liam is staring at him patiently, the pen tapping against the book as he waits for Theo to say something in response to the clue he’s repeated three times. Theo knows this answer, it’s somewhere in the back of his mind, but he’s losing the ability to focus. He feels too hot, wants nothing more than to slip out of the sweater he’s wearing and scoot as far away from the fire as he can. He wants to go back to the lake and let the water drag him down for good into its icy depths. He can’t though, not yet.

He shakes his head minutely, but this time it does little to dislodge the fog rolling around in his mind.

“I don’t know,” He admits quietly, and the words scrape against the back of his throat like knives.

There’s a tiny frown working its way onto Liam’s mouth. “You look pretty tired,” Liam says giving him a slow once-over.

“No, I’m fine, just keep going,” Theo tells him. He doesn’t want to go to sleep yet despite the fever pulling his body down making him achy and tired. He wants to sit by the fire and watch Liam scratch word after word into the tiny boxes. This is his last night like this; he doesn't want it to end so soon. 

“I’m not going to screw up again, Theo,” Liam huffs and Theo can smell the bitter stench of guilt and hurt. The smell of it almost chokes him as Liam leans forward and pokes at the flames, the little werewolf doesn’t meet his eyes. “Go to sleep.”

Theo wishes he could tell Liam why he doesn’t want to go to sleep yet. He wishes he could explain that it’s nothing to do with worry about Liam fucking up and everything to do with missing time. His shoulders sag as he stares at Liam’s back while the werewolf hunches towards the flames.

“Yeah,” Theo says reluctantly, licking his dry lips. “Okay.”  

He pushes himself up to his feet, collect his sleeping bag and shakes it out despite the protest of his muscles. He moves to the opposite side of the fire, away from Liam, if the little wolf realizes what he's doing he gives no indication of it. They usually sleep closer together, but Theo can't chance it. 

“Night,” Liam says, his voice sounding strangely hurt.

Theo nods back, his tongue too heavy to speak. He rolls over, turning his back to Liam so the wolf can’t see the anguish written in the lines of his face. He closes his eyes. He's so tired. 

 

 

* * *

Something grabs him and it takes everything in Theo to wake up. Liam’s hovering over him when he blinks open his eyes, the little werewolf is nothing more than a blurry shadow in the dark.

“What is it—” He starts to ask but Liam doesn’t give him a chance to finish before he’s ripping up the sleeve of Theo’s sweater revealing the poorly done bandage ruddy with blood beneath it. Theo panics, his hands coming up to push hard at Liam as he scrabbles away to his feet.

He squeezes his eyes closed, he doesn’t want to see Liam right now. He feels as the blood from his bitemark dribbles down his arm and drips from the tips of his fingers onto the dirt. There’s a low pained whine from Liam that has Theo opening his eyes in time to see Liam take a jerky step towards him.

“Don’t,” Theo growls out. He can’t deal with this. He didn’t want Liam to know.

He watches as Liam’s mouth falls open and closed like he’s struggling with finding words. Theo can see the question clear in Liam’s terrified eyes.

“It’s a bite,” Theo tells him, a weight lifting from his chest as the words fall from his lips.

The blood is sticky and uncomfortable. Theo sighs, it sounds defeated. He lets his nails lengthen into claws so that he can tear at the hemline of the shirt beneath his sweater, he needs to rewrap the wound before the smell of fresh blood draws more O’s to them. He peels the old bandage from his skin, dried blood flaking off the cloth and sticking to the tiny hairs of his arm. His fingers tremble as he watches Liam stalk away from him from the corner of his eye.

_It’s okay, he tells himself. You wanted Liam to be mad at you. You wanted him to hate you._

 There’s the sound of a zipper being undone and then Liam is marching right up to him with fire burning in his eyes. He grips Theo’s wrist, the touch surprisingly gentle, but that doesn’t keep Theo from trying to tug his arm away from Liam in confusion. The werewolf doesn’t growl even though Theo can see in the tense lines of his body that he wants to, he just fixes Theo with a look and tugs Theo’s sleeve up higher so that he can see the wound clearly. The bite mark is disgusting, the indentions of teeth almost black with dead skin and rotted blood. Theo closes his eyes, he can’t bring himself to look at Liam, not right now, not when Liam looks so devastated.

Liam’s hand is cold where is wraps around Theo’s wrist. He wants to curl up into the touch, wants it to sooth away the ache that lives in his bones and writhes beneath his skin like snakes. He wants to stop hurting. There’s a small _snick_ noise as Liam uncaps the water canteen and slowly pours the cold liquid over the fire burning in Theo’s arm, it stings, makes him hiss out in pain but he keeps himself from jerking away because he knows that is only trying to help.

__

They’ve been walking for two hours now though they’ve made very little progress from their starting point this morning. Theo’s covered in sweat, his body burning even though he knows the air around him should be cold. It’s hard to stay focused, the path in front of him blurring in and out of view as he slowly trails along behind Liam. He stumbles to a stop, his legs giving out on him and sending him crashing to the dirt. He groans in pain and Liam is at his side in a second, his hands pulling him into an upright sitting position, his voice shaking as he asks if Theo is okay. Theo ignores him in favor of catching his breath and taking the water canteen that Liam offers him.

“For fuck's sake,” Theo growls out at him, this is the fourth time they’ve come to a sudden halt because of Theo, his hands shake but it has nothing to do with anger. “Just leave me, Dunbar.”

“No,” Liam says without a moments pause for consideration. Theo tries to glare up at him, but it’s hard when his sight is so fuzzy.

“You’re being stupid,” Theo grunts. Theo is just dragging Liam down, there’s no sense in Liam staying by his side when he could be making his way home to his family and friends, to the people Theo knows Liam has been aching to see again.

“Look, I’m dying,” Theo says reasonably, his voice coming out like a plea. There’s no point in candy coating his words. He’s dying, and Liam needs to accept that, needs to get up and leave him here.

Liam just shakes his head at him, so Theo plunges on. “And, I’m slowing you down. You need to get back to Beacon Hills, back to your family and to your pack.” Anger leaks into his voice the longer Liam stands passively in front of him. “Stop worrying about me damn it!”

Liam sucks in a shaky breath, his shoulders a tense line as he stares down his nose at Theo. “Are you done,” The werewolf asks imperiously.

Theo refuses to respond.

“Okay,” Liam says and nods his head decisively. “Then stand up and walk.”

Theo doesn’t move for a moment, just glares silently up at Liam. Then, slowly, he stands up his balance off as the hearing in his left ear decides to suddenly stop, his body is shutting down, he knows it, he can feel it in the sluggish beat of his heart. Theo thinks he should be more scared, but he can’t find it within himself to care. He’s too exhausted for fear.

* * *

 

They stop to make camp, not for the night but for a few hours. Liam says it’s because he’s hungry, but Theo knows he’s lying. Theo is dying, but he’s not stupid. He knows the reason Liam is making them stop is that he’s watched the way Theo has slowed down, he’s listened to the loud rattle of Theo’s lungs with every desperately sucked in breath. Theo wonders if he looks like death yet. He can barely see Liam’s face, but he knows that Liam is afraid.

Theo’s tried to make a joke several times but each one falls flat, the line of Liam’s shoulders tensing more and more with each word until Theo finally decides to just quit talking.

Liam scoots closer to him, his trembling hands reaching out and wrapping around the back of Theo’s neck. He’s confused for a moment until the continuous scrape of pain starts to ease, Liam’s face coming into sharper focus. There’s a grimace on his pretty face, his blue eyes tinged with pain.

“Liam, stop,” He rasps out when he finally catches on to what Liam is doing.

“Shut up Theo,” Liam growls at him, but he doesn’t move away, doesn’t stop trying to steal away all of Theo’s pain. Theo shoves at him weakly his arms feeling like weights pulling him down into the depths of the ocean.

“You’re going to hurt yourself,” He croaks out desperately. “I’m already dying.”

He manages to wrap a hand around Liam's wrist, his fingers squeezing at it with what little strength he still has. “Stop now.”

Liam stops taking his pain, the feeling of knives against every inch of his body rushing back at Theo and stealing away his breath, his struggles to breathe as Liam tips his head forward, hair falling into his face hiding his expression from Theo.

“It’s okay, Littlewolf,” Theo whispers, his lungs struggling to pull in air. He wants Liam to look back up at him, wants to make sure that Liam is okay.

“This is my fault,” Liam’s voice is shaky like he’s on the verge of crying and only just barely hanging on.

Theo shakes his head and regrets it when a wave of dizziness hits him full force. He grits his teeth and blinks rapidly, trying to center himself using Liam as the point of his gravitation. “No, it’s not.”

“Yes, it is,” Liam nearly yells, his hand pulling away. Theo wants it back, wants that tiny piece of comfort he gets from Liam just being close, but he won’t ask for it. “I fell asleep on watch and I—I wasn’t careful during the fight, You got bit because of me.”

That’s not true. Theo got bit because he couldn’t bear the thought of Liam dying. Theo got bit because this, in every universe, is better than Liam turning into one of those things. Theo got bit because he…He closes his eyes briefly.  

“It’s not your fault, Liam. Those zombies would have surrounded us regardless of whether or not you fell asleep,” Theo sucks in a deep breath and his chest rattles like their blood caught in his lungs. It’s hard to speak, but he needs to say this. He needs Liam to understand. “It was my choice to save you.

Theo hates the way Liam’s voice sounds when he asks: “Why aren’t you angry?” It sounds so desperate and broken. Theo wants to pull him close and tell him everything will be okay, but he can’t calm his heartbeat enough to get through the lie.

“What will it accomplish,” Theo leans his head back against the tree Liam had propped him against and closes his eyes again, they feel so heavy, like the rest of him. He’s so tired, but he’s afraid of falling asleep, or more than that, he’s afraid he won’t wake up again.

“It won't change that I’ve been bitten,” Theo knows these aren’t the words Liam wants to hear, but it’s what need to be said. “It won’t save my life.”

“But—but—” Liam stutters out quietly, Theo just barely able to hear him.

“I don’t want an argument as a last conversation, Liam,” Theo says tiredly. He feels like he’s being pulled further and further down into himself, his eyes weigh too much to open them.

“Okay,” Liam whispers, his knee taps against Theo’s and stays there, a singular point of reassurance, though Theo doesn’t know which one of them it’s for, he doesn’t think it really matters. He feels so tired.

“Rest,” Liam tells him softly. “I’ll wake you.”

And Theo believes him, so he does. Theo slips in and out of consciousness over the next two hours, his lungs rattling loudly with each breath, threatening to quit on him completely. Half of him wishes they would already.

Liam pushes himself up to his feet and holds out his hand to help Theo up.

You didn’t eat anything,” Theo chokes out the reminder of why they had stopped in the first place. “You said you were hungry.

“Changed my mind,” Liam says, and Theo can’t hear the lie in Liam’s heartbeat.

Theo can’t hear Liam’s heart beat at all.

Liam grasps at his hands tightly, like he’s terrified Theo might slip away if he loosens his grip. Theo doesn’t say anything, just holds on for dear life.

* * *

 

Theo can’t breathe past the blood in his lungs, the sticky liquid drowning him in an achingly slow manner. He hates that Liam is seeing him like this, he wants the little werewolf to run away and not look back, but Liam is stubborn.

“Just keep walking,” Theo gasps, blood coating his lips and dribbling down his chin.

“No,” Liam says defiantly, but Theo can hear the slight tremor in his voice.

Theo wants to laugh as Liam’s blurry face morphs into anger. The idiot only lets himself feel one emotion at a time, his fear easily turning into anger like always.

“Don’t be scared,” He breathes out as best he can.

“I’m not scared,” Liam lies.

“Yes, you are,” Theo starts to laugh, but a cough tears through him. His hands scrabble at the dirt as he fights for air, black tar and blood dripping from his mouth as he chokes.

“Please… Go…” Theo whispers.

He has no desire to become one of those things, but he won’t ask Liam to help put him out of his misery. He knows the kid can’t and Theo doesn’t want to chance Liam’s eyes turning blue. Theo’s not innocent by any means, but Liam’s wolf would know, it would feel the guilt. Theo doesn’t want that weighing on Liam’s shoulders, not with everything else the little werewolf is going to have to endure.

Liam takes a hesitant step back, then another. His eyes are wide, terrified, the blue of them glossy with unshed tears. Theo wants to pull him close to tell him that he’ll be fine on his own, that he has the map and food, but he doesn’t because Theo knows he wouldn’t be strong enough to let Liam go. Theo’s terrified of dying, he knows where he’s going when his eyes finally close. He knows who he’s going to see again and he’s not ready. Not yet. His body trembles in the dirt, dust clouding his eyes making him grunt out in pain, but the grunt devolves into a hacking cough and Theo knows he’s getting closer to the end when it takes longer to clear his air passage.

There’s a hiccoughing breath from Liam, then the boy is turning on heel and running away, leaving behind the scent of fear and grief. It curls around Theo like a blanket of despair.

“I’m sorry,” Theo lays his head back down against the dirt, he doesn’t know who he’s apologizing to. To Liam? To Tara? To everyone, he’s ever known in his life? “I’m… sorry.”

Theo chokes out the last word and then quits trying to breathe past the river of blood in his lungs. _Dying is a slow process,_ he thinks distantly. Agonizingly slow and painful. He rolls over onto his back and hopes that he drowns on his own blood soon. He can’t take this anymore. Nothing he’s faced has ever hurt this much. He’d been lying to Liam, saying it wasn’t that bad but it is. His bones feel like broken glass, his skin stinging at every minuscule movement like there are pins stuck into each pore.

The sky overhead is so blue, like Liam’s eyes, but there’s black at the edges of his vision, the shadows slowly eating away the color. He fights to keep the blue, he’s not ready for the cold morgue, not ready for the endless cycle of his heart being ripped from his chest. He’s not ready to see Tara even though he knows it’s what he deserves.

Theo can hear his own heartbeat, hear its rapid tempo gradually start to slow down. He can’t breathe anymore, his fingers dig into the earth at his sides as he tries to ground himself, but he can’t. His fingers are too weak and he’s tired. His eyes grow heavy, the black creeping further in.

He just wants to go to sleep.

So, he does.

**Author's Note:**

> This wasn't supposed to be so long, but it was supposed to be edited better than it is *shrugs* Sorry for any confusing or poorly written parts.


End file.
